Barbie Bates and Rhonda Brain from Paint the town REaD found the egg along the Mehi River and asked preschool students of Moree to read, rhyme, sing and dance to help it grow.

The egg began growing as preschools from Moree and surrounds read to the egg and on Friday after months of children wondering what was inside, they found out.

Some thought it may have been a crocodile, others a dinosaur but when Rhonda said she saw spots of black and red the children knew it was a ladybug, or a reading bug.

As the bug made its first appearance as a newborn, it told Rhonda and Barbie it had heard all of the singing and reading whilst in the egg and loved every single one of the preschoolers who help it grow.  The reading bug was shortly taken away for a well-needed rest before a big meeting with some school principals later in the afternoon to discuss where it may visit soon.